Our Vacation Dilemma – Plus Blog Updates and a Giveaway

Here is our vacation dilemma: For a few weeks now, we’ve been planning on booking a trip to Disney World. We took the kids years ago when they were really young and we’ve wanted to go back before they get too old to really get into it.

But I started checking into the price … Holy cow! It’s looking like $4500 to $5000 for a 5 or 6 night package!

You may or may not think that’s a lot of money, but here’s where it gets tough: Our usual Mexico / Caribbean vacation usually runs us about $3,000 for 6 to 7 nights. Plus it is all inclusive (food and drinks), full of pools and activities, and just what a vacation should be – very tropical!

Given the situation, which one would you go for? Does anyone have any bright ideas or tips on saving money on Disney?

Niche Site Update:

Oh, no!!! Somehow this week my niche has gone from #16 to the #60’s and then all the way down to #212. Ouch!! What the heck happened?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was probably my fault again. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of reading up on some fancy ways to do backlinking. (Don’t worry. There’s no “black hat” techniques here like buying links or any of that crap).

Instead these are legit but not well used methods. But perhaps the drop in rank is Google’s way of telling me to knock it off.

Anyways, I removed a few of the links and am going to see if my position improves. Wish me luck!

Despite this setback, I am already thinking ahead to what my next niche site topic will be and researching with Long Tail Pro. This time around I’d like to find a keyword that is the perfect storm:

High CPC

High advertiser competition

Low SERP competition

High search volume

When I find this magic keyword, it will probably be sitting next to a leprechaun and unicorn (that’s sarcasm for saying that such a thing probably doesn’t exist). But I’ll never know unless I try!

Enter to Win:

This month I’m participating in another contest giveaway with a group of other personal finance bloggers. What’s the prize? A Canon Rebel T4i DSLR camera. Pretty awesome, right? Thank you to Structured Settlement Broker for putting this on.

Comments

Have you looked at some of the time share sites? There are a lot of time shares around Orlando – many of them even provide shuttles to and from the disney properties/bus lines. You could either try and sit through one of their pitches for some free time, or there are sites where you can rent a time share from someone that doesn’t want to use theirs this year.
Just google “time share rental”. There are a bunch of different ones.
Those usually have kitchens, etc – so you can save money by eating out a little less.Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted..2012 Shareholder Letter

I did a write up on my trip to Disney World back in August. I’d recommend trying to stay on site in one of the value resorts as then you can take the bus into the park or get free parking if you drive. The All Star Sports/Movies/Music resorts aren’t high end hotels but there is nothing wrong with them and they got the job done for us. If you go in shoulder season it’ll be cheaper too! I’m guessing airfare and tickets will be the most expensive parts. You can also take food in the parks these days I believe to avoid food costs. You could alternatively rent a locker if you don’t want to carry a backpack around all day. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I’ll see if I can help Lance @ Money Life and More recently posted..Personal Finance Round Up, Mentions and Carnivals #45

Thanks Lance! I’ll have to check out your post. We had stayed before at the one of those Value resorts and we didn’t think it was too bad. You’re at the parks so much, the hotel part really doesn’t matter. I’ll find your post and let you know if I have any other questions.

I’m with Lance. Staying in a park operated hotel can save you money, plus there are coupon codes and packages that can save you more. My wife does all of this when we go, so I’m not really sure how to do it.
The big downside with Disney is the marketing. It’s everywhere and you can’t get away from it. If your not good at saying no to your children, then you’ll spend a ton of cash.Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..My Financial Path Is Like I-75: Detroit to Florida

That’s a good idea to. We’ve stayed at the nearby Myrtle Beach and had a good time. We haven’t done Florida exclusively, but it might be worth looking into. It’s so hard though to go back from the all-inclusive resorts that we’ve gone to for the past 3 years.

OG wrote a post a while ago on how he saved 1/3rd. There is a company he used that purchases soon-to-expire points from Disney Vacation Club members and resells them. He stayed on property for much less. Shoot me an email if you want more info on it!AverageJoe recently posted..What Do You Do When Things Go Wrong? – 2 Guys and Your Money

Disney is crack for kids. There is no way not to spend money, but kids love it and it is a great memory. I like Pauline’s idea about spending a few days in the park and then hitting the coast. Orlando is not very appealing in itself, but there are some sweet areas around Daytona that aren’t so touristy. I think we used to stay in condo in New Smyrna Beach? It’s been years so it might be cheesy by now, but was really nice then.Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..What if I Can’t Pay My Income Taxes?

Going to other places in Florida is what a lot of people have been recommending to me. It sounds like a good idea. But I’m afraid that after you pay retail price to go to the parks and eat their food, the overall cost would end up being more than if we had just done the Disney direct trip.

Sign up for the Club Carlson credit card and the 85K points sign-up bonus should pay for a bunch of nights at the Orlando Celebration Radisson, which was 9K points per night when we were there last September.

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